ONCE SILVER STREAMS. 99 



ever, merely from Nature's standpoint may be 

 too narrow ; there is the far more important 

 question of Sanitation. And this applies to our 

 larger fresh-water lakes as well as to rivers. A 

 short time ago it was said that Windermere was 

 neither more nor less than a gigantic cesspool. 

 This was an exaggerated statement; but there 

 was probably much truth in it. Others of the 

 lakes are almost in worse plight. U lies water is 

 the receptacle of much foreign matter, which is 

 as injurious to health as to fish life, and certain 

 species have almost been driven from those parts 

 nearest the lead-mines. In short, there is no 

 northern lake which is absolutely pure. The sacri- 

 fice to pollution, then, is so great and so widespread 

 as to be almost beyond belief, and in a few years 

 it will have caused such devastation as can never 

 be remedied. Fish life may be returned to its 

 natural haunts if once legislation would stop pollu- 

 tion; But there seems very little inclination to 

 do this, nor will there be until the country is 

 thoroughly awakened to what is going on, and 

 to an appreciation of that of which it is being 

 deprived. 



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